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Þóra Guðmundsdóttir #3
Das glühende Grab
Auf den isländischen Westmännerinseln werden bei Ausgrabungen im Sommer 2007 drei Leichen und ein abgetrennter Kopf gefunden. Sie liegen im Keller des Elternhauses von Markús Magnússon, das bei einem Vulkanausbruch vor mehr als dreißig Jahren verschüttet wurde. Da Markús die Ausgrabung unbedingt verhindern wollte, steht er plötzlich unter Hat er als Jugendlicher drei Menschen getötet und verstümmelt? Rechtsanwältin Dóra glaubt an Markús' Unschuld. Doch dann wird noch eine Leiche entdeckt ...
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
37 books2,608 followersYrsa Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic writer, of both crime-novels and children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998.
Her début crime-novel "Last Rituals" published in the US in 2007, and the UK in January 2008 was translated into English by Bernard Scudder, and is book 1 of the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997.
Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.
In 2000 the Icelandic department of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) awarded Yrsa for her book Við viljum jólin í júlí (We Want Christmas in July).
Yrsa lives in the Reykjavík suburb of Seltjarnarnes. She is married with two children.
Her début crime-novel "Last Rituals" published in the US in 2007, and the UK in January 2008 was translated into English by Bernard Scudder, and is book 1 of the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir graduated from high-school in 1983, finished a B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Iceland in 1988 and M.Sc in the same field from Concordia University in Montreal in 1997.
Yrsa now works as a civil engineer for the company Fjarhitun, as well as being a writer.
In 2000 the Icelandic department of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) awarded Yrsa for her book Við viljum jólin í júlí (We Want Christmas in July).
Yrsa lives in the Reykjavík suburb of Seltjarnarnes. She is married with two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 444 reviews
January 15, 2019
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: In 1973, a volcanic eruption buried an entire Icelandic village in lava and ash. Now this macabre tourist attraction proves deadly once again—when the discovery of fresh bodies casts a shadow of suspicion onto Markús Magnússon, a man accused of killing his childhood sweetheart. His attorney Þóra Guðmundsdóttir finds that her client has a most inventive story to tell. But the locals seem oddly reluctant to back him up...
My Review: This is a dark, dark, dark book. It's not for the depressive or the depressed. The congenitally chirpy should read it because they'll finally be brought down enough not to infuriate the rest of us.
Thora (I can't do the ASCII again, it hurts my hands), the sleuth in the series (of which this is installment 3, though the first I've read), is very matter-of-fact, very unflappable. She's not unemotional, not really, as her actions indicate. But she is one of those folks in life who create a sense of calm for those around them by being solid and confident. And usually right.
The story is propelled, and I use that term advisedly, by the short chapters headed with the date and day of the week. It's an additional source of tension-building, and honestly it's not crucial because believe you me there is oodles of tension in the plot already.
I admire the Icelanders. They put the banksters who crashed the economy in jail, threw the gummint out, and they protect their people in so many ways, unlike the austerity addicts in the rest of Europe who are effin' over the people to please those same profiteering banksters. Oops, political rant, sorry. I meant to segue into, "But considering how much murder there seems to be in that country of a half-million or so, I won't be visiting any time soon." Heh. My bad. Arnaldur Indridason's novels, these by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, they paint a grim picture of the beautiful island of Iceland. Surely it's a happier place than this!
I remember watching with thrilled terror as Heimay erupted on the TV in 1973. It was so exciting to see it in color, and in almost real time! (They were simpler times, younguns, stop smirking.) The author's choice of setting is guaranteed to make me sit up and take notice. But the plot she sets in motion is what relentlessly pulled me along.
So why three and a half stars, when surely that sounds like a full four are merited? Because for me, the place and personal names are a bugger for me to keep in my head. The text uses all the proper diacritical marks though thankfully not the thorn and eth letters that would ordinarily feature in the names. I blush to admit this, it's so very annoying a trait in me, but the Nordic languages are damn close to impenetrable to me for these reasons...the letters and the weirdass placement of accents that don't mean accenting and umlauts that don't do what I expect them to. I can't speak along in my head as I can with French or Spanish or Portuguese. It all turns into a Prairie Home Companion joke-Norwegian-accented muddle.
Yes yes, it's my problem not the text's fault, but it's my review so features my response. I assign my rating accordingly. Condemnatory tuttings are not welcome, or invited, nor will they be met with saintly silence.
This book was a LibraryThing Early Reviewers win.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Publisher Says: In 1973, a volcanic eruption buried an entire Icelandic village in lava and ash. Now this macabre tourist attraction proves deadly once again—when the discovery of fresh bodies casts a shadow of suspicion onto Markús Magnússon, a man accused of killing his childhood sweetheart. His attorney Þóra Guðmundsdóttir finds that her client has a most inventive story to tell. But the locals seem oddly reluctant to back him up...
My Review: This is a dark, dark, dark book. It's not for the depressive or the depressed. The congenitally chirpy should read it because they'll finally be brought down enough not to infuriate the rest of us.
Thora (I can't do the ASCII again, it hurts my hands), the sleuth in the series (of which this is installment 3, though the first I've read), is very matter-of-fact, very unflappable. She's not unemotional, not really, as her actions indicate. But she is one of those folks in life who create a sense of calm for those around them by being solid and confident. And usually right.
The story is propelled, and I use that term advisedly, by the short chapters headed with the date and day of the week. It's an additional source of tension-building, and honestly it's not crucial because believe you me there is oodles of tension in the plot already.
I admire the Icelanders. They put the banksters who crashed the economy in jail, threw the gummint out, and they protect their people in so many ways, unlike the austerity addicts in the rest of Europe who are effin' over the people to please those same profiteering banksters. Oops, political rant, sorry. I meant to segue into, "But considering how much murder there seems to be in that country of a half-million or so, I won't be visiting any time soon." Heh. My bad. Arnaldur Indridason's novels, these by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, they paint a grim picture of the beautiful island of Iceland. Surely it's a happier place than this!
I remember watching with thrilled terror as Heimay erupted on the TV in 1973. It was so exciting to see it in color, and in almost real time! (They were simpler times, younguns, stop smirking.) The author's choice of setting is guaranteed to make me sit up and take notice. But the plot she sets in motion is what relentlessly pulled me along.
So why three and a half stars, when surely that sounds like a full four are merited? Because for me, the place and personal names are a bugger for me to keep in my head. The text uses all the proper diacritical marks though thankfully not the thorn and eth letters that would ordinarily feature in the names. I blush to admit this, it's so very annoying a trait in me, but the Nordic languages are damn close to impenetrable to me for these reasons...the letters and the weirdass placement of accents that don't mean accenting and umlauts that don't do what I expect them to. I can't speak along in my head as I can with French or Spanish or Portuguese. It all turns into a Prairie Home Companion joke-Norwegian-accented muddle.
Yes yes, it's my problem not the text's fault, but it's my review so features my response. I assign my rating accordingly. Condemnatory tuttings are not welcome, or invited, nor will they be met with saintly silence.
This book was a LibraryThing Early Reviewers win.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
September 7, 2012
I’ve read a few Nordic-authored novels in the past year or two (although not the Steig Larsson series, yet.) I don’t intend any criticism but (and I am trying to dance around the fallacy of a sweeping generalization) they all share a certain “flavor”. It’s an atmosphere that seems to be ever-present in the background of the story. I can’t say its “gloom”, but it has that kind of overtone. “Ashes to Dust” also gave me that sensation.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding some commonality in murder and horror novels. I will be the first to admit that I have not done a scientific study of books written by authors whose home countries are near or cross over the Arctic Circle. Nor have I looked at only similar books coming from authors of other lands.
This is also the first book that I have read by Ms. Sigurðardóttir.
There is a lot that I liked about the book. The scope and concept of the book was excellent. Perhaps it may have seemed humdrum to other Icelanders that a volcanic eruption was a major part of the book, but it worked for me. I thought that the writing was fairly good, the characters reasonable, and the core mystery decent. Another point in the book’s favor was that all the niggling little bits were cleaned up within the novel. (I am excluding the protagonist’s personal life, here.)
Perhaps this is a style thing, but I found myself able to guess major plot points long before they were revealed to the characters. I’m more used to authors that hide/obscure key facts so that the reader must work at the solution. I assume that this was deliberate and that the author (and publisher) wanted to set up the final major plot twist after letting the reader feel complacent. (It was a good twist.)
I found it interesting that this “police procedural” was lead and performed by what appears to be a general purpose lawyer. (I don’t know if in the earlier books that feature this character, her profession is more narrowly defined or not.)
The translation to English was very good. It is clear that the translator is British, as the spellings and occasional phrase indicate. (For example, the “best pleased” that made me smile when I encountered it.) No matter which side of the Atlantic this book was translated on, it would have been just as good.
As much as I like the book, I also became conscious of second-guessing it. Ultimately, I felt like there were parts of the book that just rang falsely. Perhaps this is partly the fault of the translator, but when it concerns the plot and the pacing, I think not. It’s a good book and I think it deserves a large audience, but there is better out there. One of the most novel parts of the book is the opening murder scene. If only the entire book read like that! It’s “3.5” stars at most, but I am marking it off as “3”.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding some commonality in murder and horror novels. I will be the first to admit that I have not done a scientific study of books written by authors whose home countries are near or cross over the Arctic Circle. Nor have I looked at only similar books coming from authors of other lands.
This is also the first book that I have read by Ms. Sigurðardóttir.
There is a lot that I liked about the book. The scope and concept of the book was excellent. Perhaps it may have seemed humdrum to other Icelanders that a volcanic eruption was a major part of the book, but it worked for me. I thought that the writing was fairly good, the characters reasonable, and the core mystery decent. Another point in the book’s favor was that all the niggling little bits were cleaned up within the novel. (I am excluding the protagonist’s personal life, here.)
Perhaps this is a style thing, but I found myself able to guess major plot points long before they were revealed to the characters. I’m more used to authors that hide/obscure key facts so that the reader must work at the solution. I assume that this was deliberate and that the author (and publisher) wanted to set up the final major plot twist after letting the reader feel complacent. (It was a good twist.)
I found it interesting that this “police procedural” was lead and performed by what appears to be a general purpose lawyer. (I don’t know if in the earlier books that feature this character, her profession is more narrowly defined or not.)
The translation to English was very good. It is clear that the translator is British, as the spellings and occasional phrase indicate. (For example, the “best pleased” that made me smile when I encountered it.) No matter which side of the Atlantic this book was translated on, it would have been just as good.
As much as I like the book, I also became conscious of second-guessing it. Ultimately, I felt like there were parts of the book that just rang falsely. Perhaps this is partly the fault of the translator, but when it concerns the plot and the pacing, I think not. It’s a good book and I think it deserves a large audience, but there is better out there. One of the most novel parts of the book is the opening murder scene. If only the entire book read like that! It’s “3.5” stars at most, but I am marking it off as “3”.
January 15, 2021
Todo un descubrimiento para mi esta esta escritora, ya entraré en detalles en cuanto a la historia, pero tengo que empezar porque lo que más me ha gustado es su estilo narrativo, ´me ha parecido tan sencillo y pulcro a la vez que entretenido.
Me ha gustado mucho que a pesar de que el libro esta centrado casi en su totalidad en el caso y entra muy poco a comentar la situación personal de la protagonista, la escritora me ha puesto sobre la mesa la personalidad de los islandeses, su estilo de vida, su forma de ser, de pensar y de actuar, es algo muy sutil, pero es fácil sentirse ahí y visualizar la forma en que ven las cosas.
Por el lado de la trama, me ha encantado la historia, como siempre yo ya me había hecho mis teorías en la cabeza, no me equivoqué en algunas cosas, pero tengo que decir que me ha sorprendido con el final, no es que haya dado un giro a la historia es que esconde perfectamente bien al culpable, al menos para mí.
La protagonista es una abogada, situación que ya es diferente a la mayoría de los thrillers, ahora, a pesar de ello, este no es un libro de thriller judicial en absoluto es Ꝧora quien realiza la investigación del caso con el objetivo de exculpar a su cliente, ella me ha encantado como protagonista, es una mujer inteligente, si, pero bastante normalita, nada de superpoderes femeninos, nada de inteligencias supremas, nada de perfecciones, simplemente es una mujer de mediana edad, divorciada y que además de trabajar de abogada se tiene que hacer cargo de su hija y nieto.
El único pero que tengo que poner es que me he dado cuenta de que era el tercero de una serie ya que había comenzado el libro, no me gusta saltarme libros y por error mío he comenzado por el tercero de una serie, ya me leeré los primeros en algún momento, pero lo cierto es que no he resentido la falta de esas lecturas, afortunadamente, pero si que por ahí hay un tema de Ꝧora que estoy segura se explica en otros libros, nada importante, pero esos detalles son los que me hacen no querer leer libros en desorden.
Por lo demás lo he disfrutado muchísimo, un tipo de Thriller fácil y nada denso, cosa que necesitaba en estos momentos.
Me ha gustado mucho que a pesar de que el libro esta centrado casi en su totalidad en el caso y entra muy poco a comentar la situación personal de la protagonista, la escritora me ha puesto sobre la mesa la personalidad de los islandeses, su estilo de vida, su forma de ser, de pensar y de actuar, es algo muy sutil, pero es fácil sentirse ahí y visualizar la forma en que ven las cosas.
Por el lado de la trama, me ha encantado la historia, como siempre yo ya me había hecho mis teorías en la cabeza, no me equivoqué en algunas cosas, pero tengo que decir que me ha sorprendido con el final, no es que haya dado un giro a la historia es que esconde perfectamente bien al culpable, al menos para mí.
La protagonista es una abogada, situación que ya es diferente a la mayoría de los thrillers, ahora, a pesar de ello, este no es un libro de thriller judicial en absoluto es Ꝧora quien realiza la investigación del caso con el objetivo de exculpar a su cliente, ella me ha encantado como protagonista, es una mujer inteligente, si, pero bastante normalita, nada de superpoderes femeninos, nada de inteligencias supremas, nada de perfecciones, simplemente es una mujer de mediana edad, divorciada y que además de trabajar de abogada se tiene que hacer cargo de su hija y nieto.
El único pero que tengo que poner es que me he dado cuenta de que era el tercero de una serie ya que había comenzado el libro, no me gusta saltarme libros y por error mío he comenzado por el tercero de una serie, ya me leeré los primeros en algún momento, pero lo cierto es que no he resentido la falta de esas lecturas, afortunadamente, pero si que por ahí hay un tema de Ꝧora que estoy segura se explica en otros libros, nada importante, pero esos detalles son los que me hacen no querer leer libros en desorden.
Por lo demás lo he disfrutado muchísimo, un tipo de Thriller fácil y nada denso, cosa que necesitaba en estos momentos.
August 23, 2022
I read Yrsa Sigurdardottir's "I Remember You" which freaked me out. I went and started to read her mystery series since I heard good things about it. I have read books #1-2 and finished up books #3 and #4 this past weekend. I have to say that the entire mystery (a head/skeleton, and remains of 3 men buried in a village that was abandoned due to a volcano) was well done. I loved how Thora dug in on this and the actual reveal to the mystery of the dead men and the head was a doozy. I gave this 5 stars because I wasn't expecting it at all. I will caution readers though that this book depicts anorexia, and Thora is often nasty about the size of the secretary at her law office. I just took it in as the times of the day, but honestly cringed every time I read it.
"Ashes to Dust" follows attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir who is trying to deal with a client, Markus, and the requirements he wants to put in place prior to an archeology expedition exploring his family's former home on the Westman Islands. There was a volcano eruption in 1973 that left some of the homes uninhabitable, and Markus wants to explore his family's basement. However, he comes up and informs Thora and a scientist that he's found some things that they need to take a look at. And what he finds is a head in a box and the bodies of three dead men. Thora does her best to keep her client out of jail while also investigating how the bodies came to be in the home.
Thora deciding to investigate the case of the dead bodies in Markus's home and how his family may be tied to them was interesting. There's also enough relationship issues that Thora is dealing with that makes her happy to get away for a while. For example, her companion, Matthew is trying to decide to take a job that will have him live in Iceland full-time, Thora wants him to, but doesn't want to push on it. And she's in essence been raising her grandson with her son and his girlfriend seeming to just hang around. With her partner at the law firm insisting that Thora take Bella, their secretary with her while she investigates, the two women start trying to peel back the mystery of what happened in 1973 and how some of it may be connected to the murder of a woman who used to live on the island when she was younger.
I liked all of the characters we get in this. Some of them are kind of awful. I did think it was puzzling we had the character of Tinnia who is dealing with anorexia. I wonder what started her on the path and how she seemed to know a lot about what was going on.
The writing was interesting, but honestly I can say that I guessed what happened to one of the characters. It wasn't a surprise, but still liked how it was revealed. The flow of the book I thought moved quite well. It kept me reading and wanting to see how things were going to end.
The setting of the book is 2007 in Iceland. The book focuses on what happened back in the 1970s and how certain characters seemed to have come to maybe not a bad end, but something happened that was more than the eruption that left the community slightly broken.
The ending was a shocker though. I think it was well done and I kind of laughed at Thora a bit who was disgusted by what actually did happen back in 1973 as well as in 2007.
"Ashes to Dust" follows attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir who is trying to deal with a client, Markus, and the requirements he wants to put in place prior to an archeology expedition exploring his family's former home on the Westman Islands. There was a volcano eruption in 1973 that left some of the homes uninhabitable, and Markus wants to explore his family's basement. However, he comes up and informs Thora and a scientist that he's found some things that they need to take a look at. And what he finds is a head in a box and the bodies of three dead men. Thora does her best to keep her client out of jail while also investigating how the bodies came to be in the home.
Thora deciding to investigate the case of the dead bodies in Markus's home and how his family may be tied to them was interesting. There's also enough relationship issues that Thora is dealing with that makes her happy to get away for a while. For example, her companion, Matthew is trying to decide to take a job that will have him live in Iceland full-time, Thora wants him to, but doesn't want to push on it. And she's in essence been raising her grandson with her son and his girlfriend seeming to just hang around. With her partner at the law firm insisting that Thora take Bella, their secretary with her while she investigates, the two women start trying to peel back the mystery of what happened in 1973 and how some of it may be connected to the murder of a woman who used to live on the island when she was younger.
I liked all of the characters we get in this. Some of them are kind of awful. I did think it was puzzling we had the character of Tinnia who is dealing with anorexia. I wonder what started her on the path and how she seemed to know a lot about what was going on.
The writing was interesting, but honestly I can say that I guessed what happened to one of the characters. It wasn't a surprise, but still liked how it was revealed. The flow of the book I thought moved quite well. It kept me reading and wanting to see how things were going to end.
The setting of the book is 2007 in Iceland. The book focuses on what happened back in the 1970s and how certain characters seemed to have come to maybe not a bad end, but something happened that was more than the eruption that left the community slightly broken.
The ending was a shocker though. I think it was well done and I kind of laughed at Thora a bit who was disgusted by what actually did happen back in 1973 as well as in 2007.
August 9, 2018
''Ashes To Dust'' was the only novel of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir that I still hadn't read and with its completion, I think that it is time to dedicate an elegy to the great Icelandic ''Queen of crime fiction''. My first experience with her thrilling prose was the brilliant ''I Remember You'' which I consider to be one of the best thriller/horror novels of the past decade, and after that, I continued with the Þóra Guðmundsdóttir books, a gripping and addictive series of crime novels with a touch of supernatural horror element making it irresistible to the reader. I totally disagree with some of the reviewers who seem to believe that Þóra is a rather dull character who fails to stimulate any feeling of sympathy from the reader, on the contrary, I believe that she is a particularly well-drawn protagonist while her interaction with the eccentric secretary Bella offer hilarious moments of relief in the bleak storylines of the books. ''Ashes To Dust'' is not the best book in the series, this title goes to ''Someone To Watch Over Me'' and ''The Silence Of The Sea'' equally, nevertheless it bears the distinctive marks of Sigurðardóttir's writing style: strong and well-crafted plotlines, simple and effective dialogue and of course delightful descriptions of the distant Icelandic landscape. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is on the top-5 in my list of favorite crime fiction writers and her new series (''Children's House'') seem to follow on the successful path of the author's previous work. If you haven't had the pleasure to indulge in one of Sigurðardóttir's books, the time has come for you to experience something fresh in a -more or less- saturated genre.
June 19, 2022
Not fantastic, too detailed and I did not like the main character
March 6, 2021
3.5 stars, rounded up
I have really enjoyed the books so far in this series. I find the author has a very wry style and there is humour and humanity in what could be very dark subject matter. There are just enough twists and turns and red herrings to keep things interesting but not so many as to make my brain hurt. Perfect fodder for when I need something entertaining and diverting!
I have really enjoyed the books so far in this series. I find the author has a very wry style and there is humour and humanity in what could be very dark subject matter. There are just enough twists and turns and red herrings to keep things interesting but not so many as to make my brain hurt. Perfect fodder for when I need something entertaining and diverting!
February 18, 2020
Slabuță carte. Mă așteptam să fie ceva în stilul caracteristic al nordicilor, dar a fost o lălăială obositoare și fără sens. Nu mi-a plăcut deloc. Subiectul bun, intriga in sine bunicică, dar i-a lipsit ceva. N-a avut suspans, n-a avut elementul șoc, n-a avut zvac.
Poate dacă ar fi fost scrisă prin perspectiva acțiunii unui polițist, ar fi fost diferit, dar așa cu o femeie avocat care nu e nici cine stie ce... nu m-a prins.
Îi dau 3 stele pentru subiect, pentru începutul super promițător, care șochează și dă impresia că vei citi o super poveste... dar cam atât. Scriitura nu e nici interesantă, nici captivantă, nu e in niciun fel. O lălăială.
Poate dacă ar fi fost scrisă prin perspectiva acțiunii unui polițist, ar fi fost diferit, dar așa cu o femeie avocat care nu e nici cine stie ce... nu m-a prins.
Îi dau 3 stele pentru subiect, pentru începutul super promițător, care șochează și dă impresia că vei citi o super poveste... dar cam atât. Scriitura nu e nici interesantă, nici captivantă, nu e in niciun fel. O lălăială.
March 27, 2013
Yrsa Sigurdardóttir's work reminds me of an Icelandic "delicacy" called hákarl, which consists of shark meat which is fermented for several months, sometimes underground, until the smell is strong enough to repel the most ravenous shorebirds with its ammoniac odor. I do not mean to imply that Ashes to Dust is as appetizing as road kill: It is just that its author has a tendency to go for the gamier edge of crime. That was also the case with her first book, Last Rituals. I was surprised to read that Ms. Sigurdardóttir is an engineer, because I would have guessed that she was a pathologist.
Ashes to Dust is about three bodies -- accompanied by a severed head -- which were discovered more than thirty years after the eruption of the volcano Eldfell on the Westmann Islands, which destroyed some 400 homes on the main island of Heimaey. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is trying to build a case for the innocence of the man accused of the murders, back when he was a teenager and the volcano erupted in January 1973. The story gets rather complicated (as in her other book that I read), but the author manages to keep all the threads in play until the very end.
I was attracted to the book because I plan to visit Heimaey in June 2013, and I know of no other works of fiction regarding the Westmann Islands. That's not to say there aren't any, but there certainly aren't many that have been translated into English.
Ashes to Dust is about three bodies -- accompanied by a severed head -- which were discovered more than thirty years after the eruption of the volcano Eldfell on the Westmann Islands, which destroyed some 400 homes on the main island of Heimaey. Attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is trying to build a case for the innocence of the man accused of the murders, back when he was a teenager and the volcano erupted in January 1973. The story gets rather complicated (as in her other book that I read), but the author manages to keep all the threads in play until the very end.
I was attracted to the book because I plan to visit Heimaey in June 2013, and I know of no other works of fiction regarding the Westmann Islands. That's not to say there aren't any, but there certainly aren't many that have been translated into English.
February 21, 2022
Das Gefrorene Licht hat mir etwas besser gefallen. Das Buch war auch sehr spannend aber dieses mal haben mir etwas die Spukgeschichten gefehlt. Dennoch war auch dieses mal Spannung von Anfang bis Ende da. Ich liebe die bodenständige Dora als Ermittlerin und Yrsa spickt die Geschichten immer mit etwas Humor.
August 1, 2012
Oh, I hate that I'm giving Ashes to Dust one star, because I really like Yrsa Sigurðardóttir! I enjoyed her previous two books in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series, and I'll read the next book in the series. That said, I just didn't like anything about Ashes to Dust!
For me the most disagreeable thing about this book was the way in which women were portrayed. Every woman (except maybe one) in this book was obsessed with appearance, whether that be physical appearance or social appearances. The author pointed out countless times that Thora's secretary, Bella, was fat, unattractive, and sloppy, and it was just annoying and distracting. Once is enough to remind us all about Bella! In addition, I liked Thora from previous books, but in this book she came across as entitled, stuck up, and judgemental. I just didn't care for her in this story at all.
Ok, I could go on about the characters/characterization, but enough. I also found the plot to be rather unoriginal and predictable, and the story moved s-o-o-o-o-o s-l-o-w-l-y. Plot points were just regurgitated over and over with little to no forward movement--the book was almost 400 pages long, and nothing started moving until maybe the last 1/4 of the book! Frankly, the stagnant nature of this story made it so I just didn't care what was going to happen any longer! My interest was never piqued, and I was never drawn in. I didn't like the ending either. I thought that it was improbable and tried too hard to be too clever.
I finished the book because, as I said, I like Sigurðardóttir's writing, and I kept hoping she'd at least have a really great ending. Well. I will give the next book a shot, and hope that it's better than this one was! That said, after reading Ashes to Dust, I'm in no all-fired hurry to place a hold on The Day is Dark.
For me the most disagreeable thing about this book was the way in which women were portrayed. Every woman (except maybe one) in this book was obsessed with appearance, whether that be physical appearance or social appearances. The author pointed out countless times that Thora's secretary, Bella, was fat, unattractive, and sloppy, and it was just annoying and distracting. Once is enough to remind us all about Bella! In addition, I liked Thora from previous books, but in this book she came across as entitled, stuck up, and judgemental. I just didn't care for her in this story at all.
Ok, I could go on about the characters/characterization, but enough. I also found the plot to be rather unoriginal and predictable, and the story moved s-o-o-o-o-o s-l-o-w-l-y. Plot points were just regurgitated over and over with little to no forward movement--the book was almost 400 pages long, and nothing started moving until maybe the last 1/4 of the book! Frankly, the stagnant nature of this story made it so I just didn't care what was going to happen any longer! My interest was never piqued, and I was never drawn in. I didn't like the ending either. I thought that it was improbable and tried too hard to be too clever.
I finished the book because, as I said, I like Sigurðardóttir's writing, and I kept hoping she'd at least have a really great ending. Well. I will give the next book a shot, and hope that it's better than this one was! That said, after reading Ashes to Dust, I'm in no all-fired hurry to place a hold on The Day is Dark.
September 11, 2022
Παρόλο που δυσκολεύτηκα με τα ονόματα μου άρεσε αρκετά. Η συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με κάνει να βυθιστω στην ατμόσφαιρα του νησιού και των ανθρώπων. Με ένα τέλος που δεν το περίμενα.
May 1, 2018
Exact ce ma asteptam de la Yrsa: o poveste incalcita (dar am cam intuit-o spre final pentru ca rezolvarea este un loc comun pentru romanele politiste nordice), scrisa foarte bine, cu o atmosfera aparte. Mi-a placut romanul. Poate ca a fost putin cam lung si cred ca unora nu le-ar placea pentru ca este un roman "de replica", de povesti depanate si nu te de actiune.
April 7, 2021
Is there a handy moniker for a third in a series that doesn’t wow? What comes after a sophomore slump? Junior jitters? Third time tumble? Frankly, I’ve no idea. I was trying to come up with something, but it seems there isn’t a word for it. And yet this nonexisting word was never far from my mind while reading this book, a third in the adventures of the surprisingly formidable Icelandic lawyer Thora Gudmunsdottir.
Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with the book per se, but when you compare it to the previous two (and how can you not) it leaves a lot to be desired. It’s still a compelling mystery with an interesting and unpredictable twist, the author does those very well, but the overall narrative seems different. There’s less of Thora’s personal life in it since her foreign boyfriend (and usually a reliable sidekick) is away (though contemplating a relocation to Iceland) and her family situation is mostly a walking talking cautionary tale about babies having babies and the greatness of contraception. And because Thora’s man in away on the continent, it has turned her into a bizarrely horny grandma who describes all the man she encounters from a desirability/attractiveness perspective and also mentally competes for attention with her overweight chainsmoking secretary.
The latter is actually the only one who makes out well in the third entry in the series, since she finally gets some time in the sun and a chance to prove her worth outside of being a well justified cause of Thora’s frustration, since she really is just about the world’s worst secretary, albeit a surprisingly punctual one.
But the meat here is, of course, the mystery, since Thora just can’t seem to get a normal legal case. This time she gets stuck representing a man accused of murder/murders after the bodies are discovered in the basement of his Pompeiied over old family place. And yes, that is volcanic ash and dust the title refers too. Because I love reading thematically and Iceland has just had some unusual volcanic activity. In the book, it occurred decades ago on a small island community and now with archeologists doing some work there, the secrets so thoroughly buried in the past are threatening to come out.
To author’s credit, she always finds a new and exciting locale within a relatively small geographic territory to delight her readers with and this book is no exception. But no matter how much you might appreciate the scenery, the narrative does leave you wanting, not dramatically but noticeably. Because for some (plot undeserving) reason this book is also the longest of its predecessors. So it offers less and drags on for longer. Although it stands to mention it’s also (quite surprisingly) funnier too, maybe there’s a different translator, but it even had a couple of laugh out loud moments. Go figure. Thora as a character isn’t exactly a barrel of laughs and multiple murders, especially the way they are done in these books, aren’t exactly hilarious either. But there it is, kind of a nice change too. Not enough to offset the plodding pace of the book though or the sheer horrific quality of the crimes within it. There was also neither a tinge nor a twinge of the supernatural the way it was in the first two books.
So overall, it’s still a good read and fans of dark psychological crime fiction, especially with a Scandinavian flavor, should enjoy it. But it is definitely the lesser of the three in the series so far, the slowest and the longest, so reader beware.
I don’t normally enjoy serials. I much, much prefer standalones. The fondness doesn’t increase with familiarity, in fact it may breed animosity for me. A series has to be pretty exceptional for me to follow it. This entry wasn’t. But it wasn’t a total writeoff either, not by any means, its mostly that the author has set such a high standard with her previous works and this one didn’t quite live up to that standard. I’ll most likely continue with the series, but maybe not right away. The location alone…plus any genre writer who can surprise me time and time again is worth the time.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with the book per se, but when you compare it to the previous two (and how can you not) it leaves a lot to be desired. It’s still a compelling mystery with an interesting and unpredictable twist, the author does those very well, but the overall narrative seems different. There’s less of Thora’s personal life in it since her foreign boyfriend (and usually a reliable sidekick) is away (though contemplating a relocation to Iceland) and her family situation is mostly a walking talking cautionary tale about babies having babies and the greatness of contraception. And because Thora’s man in away on the continent, it has turned her into a bizarrely horny grandma who describes all the man she encounters from a desirability/attractiveness perspective and also mentally competes for attention with her overweight chainsmoking secretary.
The latter is actually the only one who makes out well in the third entry in the series, since she finally gets some time in the sun and a chance to prove her worth outside of being a well justified cause of Thora’s frustration, since she really is just about the world’s worst secretary, albeit a surprisingly punctual one.
But the meat here is, of course, the mystery, since Thora just can’t seem to get a normal legal case. This time she gets stuck representing a man accused of murder/murders after the bodies are discovered in the basement of his Pompeiied over old family place. And yes, that is volcanic ash and dust the title refers too. Because I love reading thematically and Iceland has just had some unusual volcanic activity. In the book, it occurred decades ago on a small island community and now with archeologists doing some work there, the secrets so thoroughly buried in the past are threatening to come out.
To author’s credit, she always finds a new and exciting locale within a relatively small geographic territory to delight her readers with and this book is no exception. But no matter how much you might appreciate the scenery, the narrative does leave you wanting, not dramatically but noticeably. Because for some (plot undeserving) reason this book is also the longest of its predecessors. So it offers less and drags on for longer. Although it stands to mention it’s also (quite surprisingly) funnier too, maybe there’s a different translator, but it even had a couple of laugh out loud moments. Go figure. Thora as a character isn’t exactly a barrel of laughs and multiple murders, especially the way they are done in these books, aren’t exactly hilarious either. But there it is, kind of a nice change too. Not enough to offset the plodding pace of the book though or the sheer horrific quality of the crimes within it. There was also neither a tinge nor a twinge of the supernatural the way it was in the first two books.
So overall, it’s still a good read and fans of dark psychological crime fiction, especially with a Scandinavian flavor, should enjoy it. But it is definitely the lesser of the three in the series so far, the slowest and the longest, so reader beware.
I don’t normally enjoy serials. I much, much prefer standalones. The fondness doesn’t increase with familiarity, in fact it may breed animosity for me. A series has to be pretty exceptional for me to follow it. This entry wasn’t. But it wasn’t a total writeoff either, not by any means, its mostly that the author has set such a high standard with her previous works and this one didn’t quite live up to that standard. I’ll most likely continue with the series, but maybe not right away. The location alone…plus any genre writer who can surprise me time and time again is worth the time.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
February 6, 2014
Book 3, in the Thora Gudmundsdottir series
I don’t know why I put this author on the back burner for such a long time. I had totally forgotten how wonderfully different Thora Gudmundsdottir, the protagonist is. Thora is a lawyer by profession who has a very unusual clientele and is the type to poke her nose into the investigating side of cases as well as defending her clients. If you haven’t read the previous installments don’t worry this one works pretty well as a standalone.
Although the book is long, it doesn’t drag by any means. As in her previous stories there is quite a bit of interviewing and re- interviewing of witnesses and lots of traveling back in forth from the big city to where the action takes place. Ms. Sigurdardottir weaves a very complicated crime thriller with a liberal helping of “what-ifs” to keeps us guessing till the very end. The winding plot takes us down many avenues and is fueled by the infinite peculiarities of human behavior.
The star is also Iceland with all its glorious scenery. “Ashes to Dust” takes place in parts on the Heimaey Islands. In 1973, the small community came to international attention after volcano Eldfjell erupted and the inhabitants were temporarily evacuated. With this as background the author pinned a clever, rich an intriguing mystery with surprising twists and turns and handled Iceland past and present to the full effect in her tale of hidden crimes and family secrets.
Here is a brief outline:
The volcanic eruption buried a number of houses in lava, including that of Markus Magnusson, who was 15 at the time. In 2007, an excavation of his childhood home reveals three bodies and a severed head that appear to be decades old. Markus tells the police he knows nothing about the bodies, but the single person who could have verified his version of events is found dead, her apparent suicide soon revealed as murder. With the searchlight of suspicion cast on his affairs, Markus must rely on Thora, his determined lawyer, to defend his interests.
I don’t know why I put this author on the back burner for such a long time. I had totally forgotten how wonderfully different Thora Gudmundsdottir, the protagonist is. Thora is a lawyer by profession who has a very unusual clientele and is the type to poke her nose into the investigating side of cases as well as defending her clients. If you haven’t read the previous installments don’t worry this one works pretty well as a standalone.
Although the book is long, it doesn’t drag by any means. As in her previous stories there is quite a bit of interviewing and re- interviewing of witnesses and lots of traveling back in forth from the big city to where the action takes place. Ms. Sigurdardottir weaves a very complicated crime thriller with a liberal helping of “what-ifs” to keeps us guessing till the very end. The winding plot takes us down many avenues and is fueled by the infinite peculiarities of human behavior.
The star is also Iceland with all its glorious scenery. “Ashes to Dust” takes place in parts on the Heimaey Islands. In 1973, the small community came to international attention after volcano Eldfjell erupted and the inhabitants were temporarily evacuated. With this as background the author pinned a clever, rich an intriguing mystery with surprising twists and turns and handled Iceland past and present to the full effect in her tale of hidden crimes and family secrets.
Here is a brief outline:
The volcanic eruption buried a number of houses in lava, including that of Markus Magnusson, who was 15 at the time. In 2007, an excavation of his childhood home reveals three bodies and a severed head that appear to be decades old. Markus tells the police he knows nothing about the bodies, but the single person who could have verified his version of events is found dead, her apparent suicide soon revealed as murder. With the searchlight of suspicion cast on his affairs, Markus must rely on Thora, his determined lawyer, to defend his interests.
May 26, 2021
Ashes to Dust is the third in Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s series featuring attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir. Thirty-five years ago, in 1973, the Eldfell volcano erupted, covering the tiny Icelandic village of Heimaey in ash. Today archaeologists have returned to uncover some of the homes. Markus Magnusson was a teenager when it happened, but has now hired Thora to make sure no one can enter his former home until he has. He rushes to the basement as soon as it's clear and grabs the box he has been concerned about. He sees three corpses against the wall, drops the box, and a severed head rolls out. Thora now needs to investigate what happened all those years ago so she can advocate for her client.
Thora is a pretty realistic character. She's a divorced, single mother of two and has just become a new grandmother thanks to her 18 year old son. She's not hugely successful in the business sense, but she is determined to do her job to the best of her ability. The story dragged in a few places but, for the most part, there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested in the plot. The most difficult thing I encountered was trying to pronounce the multi-syllabic Icelandic names, but once I settled on “my own” pronunciation that was no longer an issue. This can definitely be read as a standalone novel. Overall I enjoyed the story and the characters and would recommend it to fans of mysteries set in fascinating locations.
Thora is a pretty realistic character. She's a divorced, single mother of two and has just become a new grandmother thanks to her 18 year old son. She's not hugely successful in the business sense, but she is determined to do her job to the best of her ability. The story dragged in a few places but, for the most part, there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested in the plot. The most difficult thing I encountered was trying to pronounce the multi-syllabic Icelandic names, but once I settled on “my own” pronunciation that was no longer an issue. This can definitely be read as a standalone novel. Overall I enjoyed the story and the characters and would recommend it to fans of mysteries set in fascinating locations.
April 13, 2015
Três estrelas para um livro que, não sendo excecional, tem partes muito interessantes.
Para mim, que sou da área da geologia, interessou-me particularmente a parte da vulcanologia. O enredo é bem conseguido mas... O início é muito chato, parte da charada consegui adivinhá-la muito cedo e a outra parte, mesmo no final, pareceu demasiado forçada e com explicações incipientes.
As comparações com stieg larsson são, por isso, infundadas! ;) Ainda assim, lê-se bem!
Para mim, que sou da área da geologia, interessou-me particularmente a parte da vulcanologia. O enredo é bem conseguido mas... O início é muito chato, parte da charada consegui adivinhá-la muito cedo e a outra parte, mesmo no final, pareceu demasiado forçada e com explicações incipientes.
As comparações com stieg larsson são, por isso, infundadas! ;) Ainda assim, lê-se bem!
October 12, 2017
Το τρίτο βιβλίο της σειράς (που διάβασα ως δεύτερο) με πρωταγωνίστρια τη δικηγόρο Θόρα έχει να κάνει με μία ιστορία του παρελθόντος που έρχεται στο φως με αφορμή τις ανασκαφές των σκεπασμένων από τη λάβα σπιτιών μετά την έκρηξη ενός ηφαιστείου.
Ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία αν και μερικές φορές κουραστική.
Πιο ενδιαφέρουσα αποκαλύπτεται η χώρα, τα τοπία της και οι άνθρωποι με τα στραμπουληχτά ονόματα.
Η Θόρα ως προσωπικότητα είναι μάλλον χωρίς ενδιαφέρον.
Καθημερινή και προβλέψιμη σε όλα της.
Το βιβλίο μπορεί να προηγηθεί του 2ου, χωρίς αναπάντητα ερωτηματικά, όχι όμως και του 1ου, που ουσιαστικά εισάγει στον αναγνώστη τη Θόρα και την ανεκδιήγητη πλην γήινη και συμπαθή Μπέλα.
Θεωρώ ότι είναι αναγκαίες από τους μεταφραστές ισλανδικών βιβλίων ορισμένες διευκρινιστικές πληροφορίες για τα ονόματα (πχ. η κατάληξη -ντοτιρ στα θηλυκά) ή κάποιες συνήθειες της χώρας.
Μιας χώρας μακρινής και άγνωστης σε μας.
Στο βιβλίο αυτό υπάρχει μια μικρή σημείωση σχετικά με τις προσφωνήσεις αλλά θα μπορούσαν να υπάρχουν και άλλες.
Ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία αν και μερικές φορές κουραστική.
Πιο ενδιαφέρουσα αποκαλύπτεται η χώρα, τα τοπία της και οι άνθρωποι με τα στραμπουληχτά ονόματα.
Η Θόρα ως προσωπικότητα είναι μάλλον χωρίς ενδιαφέρον.
Καθημερινή και προβλέψιμη σε όλα της.
Το βιβλίο μπορεί να προηγηθεί του 2ου, χωρίς αναπάντητα ερωτηματικά, όχι όμως και του 1ου, που ουσιαστικά εισάγει στον αναγνώστη τη Θόρα και την ανεκδιήγητη πλην γήινη και συμπαθή Μπέλα.
Θεωρώ ότι είναι αναγκαίες από τους μεταφραστές ισλανδικών βιβλίων ορισμένες διευκρινιστικές πληροφορίες για τα ονόματα (πχ. η κατάληξη -ντοτιρ στα θηλυκά) ή κάποιες συνήθειες της χώρας.
Μιας χώρας μακρινής και άγνωστης σε μας.
Στο βιβλίο αυτό υπάρχει μια μικρή σημείωση σχετικά με τις προσφωνήσεις αλλά θα μπορούσαν να υπάρχουν και άλλες.
June 19, 2016
I read this book a couple of weeks ago while visiting Iceland for the second time. It's the 3rd book I have read by this author who works as a civil engineer in Reykjavik. Three bodies (as well as a severed head) are found in a basement during a 2007 excavation of houses that had been buried under lava and ash during the volcanic eruption in the Westman Islands in 1973, and no one knows who they were or why they were there or how they died. There was only one person killed in the Eldfell volcano disaster, and as everyone on the island says, he was an alcoholic "so doesn't really count." Everybody else in the village had been accounted for. It's a 'whodunit' Icelandic style, and becomes more complicated after a few other people are found dead and possibly murdered during the ensuing investigation. The main protagonist is a lawyer hired by Markus, the man that the police believe committed the murders, and attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir is as good a character as any in Scandinavian crime fiction. She leads a busy and harried life, and leads her own investigation which takes the reader down quite a few murky paths. She is accompanied by her surly assistant Bella, a tattooed chain-smoking woman who lends her own cynical view to events, and whose relationship with the lawyer is mostly antagonistic. The story starts out with a grotesque murder, quickly leading to the unveiling of the long buried bodies in the basement, and it takes quite a few twists and turns. Although I anticipated one or two of them, I did not see the final ending coming, and found myself going back to re-read earlier chapters to look for any foreshadowings that I might have missed.
The premise of the book was particularly intriguing after seeing the majesty of Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano that erupted in Iceland in 2010, as well as Katla and Hekla, two other volcanoes that have been active (although not as recently). But it's not at all necessary to have visited Iceland (or to live there) to appreciate this book, or the writings of this author.
The premise of the book was particularly intriguing after seeing the majesty of Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano that erupted in Iceland in 2010, as well as Katla and Hekla, two other volcanoes that have been active (although not as recently). But it's not at all necessary to have visited Iceland (or to live there) to appreciate this book, or the writings of this author.
November 9, 2015
I won this book through First Reads! Thank you Goodreads!
The description intrigued me, as it was described as appealing to fans of Stieg Larsson, and it both takes place in Iceland and is written by an Icelandic author.
I didn't find that the story was similar to Larsson's, either in theme or writing style. However, it did create a very strong sense of place - both in physical setting and the mentality of solving a crime in a very small country, where the number of people who know each other makes it almost like a small town. I liked the author's ability to create this setting - just for this, reading the book was worthwhile.
However, as a mystery, I didn't find the book very suspenseful. I note that several other reviewers said that they found the book "slow-moving." It's not, really, Hints and clues are revealed at a steady pace throughout the story. But the author makes sure, throughout, that the reader has always figured out the next 'big reveal' before the characters figure it out. It's obviously done on purpose, but I'm not sure why. It has the effect of making the book 'feel' slow, as you're constantly waiting for the investigator to figure out the thing that's already been made obvious to you.
One thing is - I gotta say, for a lawyer, the main character, Thora, does an awful lot of investigating. Are lawyers allowed to investigate the crime, rather than just defending a case, in Iceland? Hmm. It made me curious about the Icelandic legal system.
As the book is translated from Icelandic, there are a few awkward phrases here and there, but for the most part, the language is very basic and straightforward.
The description intrigued me, as it was described as appealing to fans of Stieg Larsson, and it both takes place in Iceland and is written by an Icelandic author.
I didn't find that the story was similar to Larsson's, either in theme or writing style. However, it did create a very strong sense of place - both in physical setting and the mentality of solving a crime in a very small country, where the number of people who know each other makes it almost like a small town. I liked the author's ability to create this setting - just for this, reading the book was worthwhile.
However, as a mystery, I didn't find the book very suspenseful. I note that several other reviewers said that they found the book "slow-moving." It's not, really, Hints and clues are revealed at a steady pace throughout the story. But the author makes sure, throughout, that the reader has always figured out the next 'big reveal' before the characters figure it out. It's obviously done on purpose, but I'm not sure why. It has the effect of making the book 'feel' slow, as you're constantly waiting for the investigator to figure out the thing that's already been made obvious to you.
One thing is - I gotta say, for a lawyer, the main character, Thora, does an awful lot of investigating. Are lawyers allowed to investigate the crime, rather than just defending a case, in Iceland? Hmm. It made me curious about the Icelandic legal system.
As the book is translated from Icelandic, there are a few awkward phrases here and there, but for the most part, the language is very basic and straightforward.
January 14, 2012
Thirty years after the volcanic eruption on Heimaey (the only populated island of Iceland's Westman Archipelago) the archeologists excavating the homes that had been buried in ash.....discovered three corpses and a discrete head, in the basement of a house belonging to one Markus Magnusson. Mr Magnusson enlists the help of his attorney, Thora Gudmundsdottir, whose lot in life seems to be the defense of eccentric clients. Markus, already a suspect in the death of a childhood friend, is also a master of the Tall Tale...and the one he spins is full of family secrets and/or outright lies..
Needless to say this story is complex..full of the aforementioned secrets and lies...fear of social stigma...sexual perversion and inadequacy...the whole boiling stew that makes for a good murder story. And it is that...with just enough of Thora's personal life thrown in to make the reader aware of her life outside murder, mayhem and the Law...
However, I found the comparison to Steig Larsson's MILLENIUM TRILOGY a little off putting. I saw more of P D James' Adam Dalgliesh, and that series of police procedurals, visible here...Liz Salander is nowhere to be found in this book (though Thora's PA is a bit of a Goth Girl)....and the thrills are kept to a dull roar. Our Thora may not be glamourous, but she's a decent detective/lawyer...
Recommended for mystery buffs and those who enjoy their ScandiCrime with more brains than brawn.
I haven't read any other of Ms Sigurdardottir's work, so I don't know how this book compares to her other titles
4 Stars
**This was a Net Galley**
Needless to say this story is complex..full of the aforementioned secrets and lies...fear of social stigma...sexual perversion and inadequacy...the whole boiling stew that makes for a good murder story. And it is that...with just enough of Thora's personal life thrown in to make the reader aware of her life outside murder, mayhem and the Law...
However, I found the comparison to Steig Larsson's MILLENIUM TRILOGY a little off putting. I saw more of P D James' Adam Dalgliesh, and that series of police procedurals, visible here...Liz Salander is nowhere to be found in this book (though Thora's PA is a bit of a Goth Girl)....and the thrills are kept to a dull roar. Our Thora may not be glamourous, but she's a decent detective/lawyer...
Recommended for mystery buffs and those who enjoy their ScandiCrime with more brains than brawn.
I haven't read any other of Ms Sigurdardottir's work, so I don't know how this book compares to her other titles
4 Stars
**This was a Net Galley**
May 18, 2012
This book started out capturing my attention in the prologue, then the book slowed way down. I didn't feel like the story line picked back up until I got into the late 100's. It just dragged. I barely learned that this is the 3rd in the series that follows this lawyor, Thora. I felt the book ended with some unanswered questions about this woman, but perhaps Yrsa is planning on writing a fourth and did it purposefully. There were a few characters I didn't feel Yrsa actually wrapped up their stories, which was disappointing.
The story line wraps around the lives of several different characters, that somehow relate to the case Thora is working on. As Thora digs around for her client the reader learns more and more pertaining to her client. The end comes with a surprise, and I wasn't disappointed. The only reason it got three stars was due to the fact that the beginning was SO slow, after the initial beginning.
The story line wraps around the lives of several different characters, that somehow relate to the case Thora is working on. As Thora digs around for her client the reader learns more and more pertaining to her client. The end comes with a surprise, and I wasn't disappointed. The only reason it got three stars was due to the fact that the beginning was SO slow, after the initial beginning.
April 11, 2012
I generally like these books that feature lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir. The way her family duties tend to impinge on her ability to fulfill her duties makes this series unusual and refreshingly realistic. The plot (or multiple plot lines) in this book, though, were just not that interesting and they seemed to be brought together by main force, rather than in a way I could find believable.
The one character who stood out for me is Tinna, the girl who concentrates on "calories." What is missing is any attempt to account for this controlling feature of the character's personality. Where is the backstory to make her tragedy more real and connect it more concretely to the story?
For all the talk (see the Amazon page for this book) about the isolated and desolate island setting, it didn't seem to me that much was done with it, and that was another disappointment.
The one character who stood out for me is Tinna, the girl who concentrates on "calories." What is missing is any attempt to account for this controlling feature of the character's personality. Where is the backstory to make her tragedy more real and connect it more concretely to the story?
For all the talk (see the Amazon page for this book) about the isolated and desolate island setting, it didn't seem to me that much was done with it, and that was another disappointment.
August 29, 2015
4,5 Sterne
Spannend, mit vielen Verwicklungen und mit sehr überraschender Auflösung. Was mir diesmal etwas gefehlt hat, war die mystische Komponente, die sonst stets in den Krimis der Autorin miteingeflochten ist. Dennoch war es fesselnd und in Nullkommanix durchgelesen. Noch ein Dora-Krimi auf dem Sub, dann habe ich alle Bücher von Sigurdardottir durch. Hoffentlich schreibt sie noch fleißig weiter!
Spannend, mit vielen Verwicklungen und mit sehr überraschender Auflösung. Was mir diesmal etwas gefehlt hat, war die mystische Komponente, die sonst stets in den Krimis der Autorin miteingeflochten ist. Dennoch war es fesselnd und in Nullkommanix durchgelesen. Noch ein Dora-Krimi auf dem Sub, dann habe ich alle Bücher von Sigurdardottir durch. Hoffentlich schreibt sie noch fleißig weiter!
October 7, 2021
Love this series!
February 8, 2017
Este o carte groasă, pe care am citit-o destul de greu. Titlul se explică prin caracteristicile principale ale zonei în care are loc acțiunea, unde a avut loc o erupție vulcanică cu câțiva ani în urmă. Pot spune că această carte m-a dezamăgit oarecum, m-a lăsat cu ochii în soare dar partea bună este că la fel i s-a întâmplat și protagonistei, Thora Gudmundsdottir, pe care încă o ador.
Clientul ei, Markus, este cercetat pentru două crime diferite: uciderea a patru bărbați ale căror cadavre se află în pivnița casei sale și moartea unei asistente pe care o îndrăgea încă din copilărie. Acțiunea se desfășoară ca de obicei, într-un oraș mic. Thora se luptă să-i dovedească nevinovăția, răscolind trecutul multor locatari al Insulelor Westman. Erupția vulcanului este bineînțeles, un eveniment real.
Finalul cărții, după cum am spus, m-a dezamăgit; mi s-a părut că dezlegarea misterelor a durat prea mult pe parcursul cărții când acestea se puteau rezolva foarte ușor prin declarațiile a două persoane-cheie, aceste declarații având loc abia în ultimele capitole, desfășurându-se prea rapid și făcând încercările Thorei să pară oarecum prostești, prea exagerate, dar și Thora simte la fel la sfârșit. Cazul acesta a fost altfel faț�� de celelalte două cărți din serie pe care le-am citit, căci nu Thora este cea care vine cu concluziile de această dată. M-a deranjat oarecum și lipsa prezenței lui Matthew, personaj pe care îl simpatizez foarte tare.
În orice caz, aștept cu nerbădare să mai citesc despre aventurile Thorei și recomand această carte persoanelor răbdătoare, cărora le plac romanele polițiste.
Clientul ei, Markus, este cercetat pentru două crime diferite: uciderea a patru bărbați ale căror cadavre se află în pivnița casei sale și moartea unei asistente pe care o îndrăgea încă din copilărie. Acțiunea se desfășoară ca de obicei, într-un oraș mic. Thora se luptă să-i dovedească nevinovăția, răscolind trecutul multor locatari al Insulelor Westman. Erupția vulcanului este bineînțeles, un eveniment real.
Finalul cărții, după cum am spus, m-a dezamăgit; mi s-a părut că dezlegarea misterelor a durat prea mult pe parcursul cărții când acestea se puteau rezolva foarte ușor prin declarațiile a două persoane-cheie, aceste declarații având loc abia în ultimele capitole, desfășurându-se prea rapid și făcând încercările Thorei să pară oarecum prostești, prea exagerate, dar și Thora simte la fel la sfârșit. Cazul acesta a fost altfel faț�� de celelalte două cărți din serie pe care le-am citit, căci nu Thora este cea care vine cu concluziile de această dată. M-a deranjat oarecum și lipsa prezenței lui Matthew, personaj pe care îl simpatizez foarte tare.
În orice caz, aștept cu nerbădare să mai citesc despre aventurile Thorei și recomand această carte persoanelor răbdătoare, cărora le plac romanele polițiste.
July 25, 2014
I would have liked this book better had it been shorter. It was snail paced for most of it and only picked up when there was about 50 pages remaining. This made the whole investigation absolutely stupid too, the heroine couldn't be any denser when it came to the simplest of things. As an example, one of the prime people in the plot has a bit of mysterious past - no one knows her whereabouts for a period of one year when she's a teenager. She says she's at one place, but really she's not. So, what would anyone but the most sheltered person think? Right? Apparently our heroine's first and only conjecture is that she must have had a mental illness that she wanted to hide. Similarly, she can think of absolutely no reason why a dead person has his man parts stuffed in his mouth. She's a lawyer. She's not even young. One would think she's reasonably bright. But no. I can't think of a reason why this is perpetuated if not for increasing the page count rather needlessly.
While the thing did pick up at the end, the motive didn't quite resonate with me. But I'll not argue with murderers. I just wish there was a brighter person in the lead or that the mystery was more compelling. I also missed the memo that this was a series, but now that I know, I might pick up another book to see if my opinion (that it's not worth my time) holds up. 2 stars.
While the thing did pick up at the end, the motive didn't quite resonate with me. But I'll not argue with murderers. I just wish there was a brighter person in the lead or that the mystery was more compelling. I also missed the memo that this was a series, but now that I know, I might pick up another book to see if my opinion (that it's not worth my time) holds up. 2 stars.
March 30, 2012
Book Giveaway & Review: We’re participating in the Charity Hopping Around the World Giveaway Hop, so it seems appropriate to have our giveaway be an international novel. Once you’ve read a novel by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, it becomes really apparent why she’s an award-winning author and is known as Iceland’s crime queen. Although she writes children’s books as well as crime novels for adults, it’s her noir crime series featuring attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir that has gotten her compared to Stieg Larsson. Ashes to Dust is the 4th book in this series but it works very well as a stand-alone novel, so no worries there. Read the rest of my review & enter our giveaway at http://popcornreads.com/?p=3499.
November 9, 2022
An ok read but so far at least this series is not a patch on the excellent Children’s House books.
The idea was decent and I did like the increased involvement of Thora’s secretary, Bella, who was a brilliant new character. Unfortunately though I found the story to be rather messy with an over complicated and unbelievable plot. Even so I would have given it thee stars were it not for a disappointing ending that I felt simply didn’t fit the character’s personality or history.
It also didn’t help that I found the narrator annoyingly over dramatic throughout.
The idea was decent and I did like the increased involvement of Thora’s secretary, Bella, who was a brilliant new character. Unfortunately though I found the story to be rather messy with an over complicated and unbelievable plot. Even so I would have given it thee stars were it not for a disappointing ending that I felt simply didn’t fit the character’s personality or history.
It also didn’t help that I found the narrator annoyingly over dramatic throughout.
May 4, 2017
Dora und ihre Geschichten gefallen mir von Buch zu Buch besser und ich freue mich noch immer, dass mir diese Reihe empfohlen wurde. Die einzelnen Typen bekommen immer mehr Charakter, die Geschichte ist spannend geschrieben und ich habe wieder bis zuletzt gerätselt, wie nun alles ausgehen wird. Der nächste Teil ist bereits begonnen...
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